First Day of Work / Day Care

Today was a tremendous day for BOTH Elayna and I as my 12 weeks of baby-bliss finally wrap up. I've really enjoyed having so much time off work to bond with Elayna. She is a beautiful baby, full of so many smiles and surprises.

So off I went back to the office today. I'm returning to Wells Fargo part-time ... I'll spend 2 days a week in the office and a few hours working from home. This is FABULOUS and fairly unusual for the team so I'm very fortunate to have this opportunity. My co-workers were great today too. Everyone was very welcoming and very supportive of my new schedule and little Elayna.

So off Elayna went to day-care today. She had some sniffles yesterday so Aaron and I were both worried about her but she did fine. She made some new friends, played for a while, and even took a few short naps. Tonight she is exhausted and is in bed already at 7:45.

Elayna also met a new friend, Ben Nickel, yesterday. Bryan, Kim, and Ben visited us from Tucson yesterday and we had a fun time playing with the babies and grilling. This was the longest Elayna has spent in the pool and she had a great time ... I think she's going to be a water bug.

So lots of new things for our precious baby. Every day is a fun adventure.

Email to friends: End of Maternity Leave

Hi everyone --

Today is my last day of maternity leave and I'll be returning to the office on Monday!!  It's hard to believe that Elayna is already 12 weeks old.  She's an amazing baby, very smiley and talkative and observant with some occasional stubborn streaks (which she gets from her dad).  For the past week, she's consistently slept through the night (8pm - 5am with a feeding at 10pm), although she's decided that makes her far too grown up for naps.  She also had a trial day at day-care yesterday and did great … now its just her mom we need to worry about.

Here's a new picture.  She's very strong and loves to sit up or kick with her legs.  She's also a healthy baby -- 90th percentile for both height and weight  We've also updated our photo site with the latest and greatest so feel free to check her out….  www.kellum.shutterfly.com

I have loved getting to know my daughter over the last 12 weeks and have decided to return to work part-time.  This is a wonderful situation for me -- I'm very thankful to spend so much time with Elayna and still have the opportunity for some 'adult time'.  Wells Fargo has been EXTREMELY understanding and flexible with my schedule and I'm amazed at how perfectly things have fallen into place. 

Thanks to all for your warm wishes, prayers, and thoughts!
Courtney

Elayna Talks

Every day, little Elayna is delightful, surprising, and challenging. At 10 weeks old, she has not learned to roll-over yet ... but I think that is because she spends the majority of awake time talking to her mom and dad. I love to sit with her on my lap and watch her smile and coo. She's becoming more and more personable and should be a fantastic public speaker some day....

This video is sideways (oops) but so cute!!

Our 2-month Baby

I haven't been as good about updating our blog as I would like ... time sure flies with a new baby.

Elayna is beautiful of course and a lot of fun. She's about to turn 2 months-old and smiles, coos, and carries on a lovely conversation. She's noticing a lot more around her and will watch her mobile for 15-20 minutes (its a lot!!).

I have to be careful to not over-stimulate her. Since she's much more aware, it doesn't take long before she's had enough. Evenings especially are a fussy time and she needs lots of love and attention to wind down.

However, she's sleeping well at night and has several good naps during the day. We've been working on self-soothing -- especially on falling back asleep if she wakes up -- and she's done very well this week. She's going to bed around 9pm and will sleep until 6am with one night-time feeding ... not too bad for a 2 month old!

Of course, the love of her life is her Dad. Elayna lights up when Aaron comes home at night and spends a lot of time talking and mimicing his facial expressions. Aaron also has a calming influence with her when she starts to get fussy at night. I know Elayna loves her Mom but she definitely is a Daddy's Girl....

I have 3 weeks left of maternity leave and can't believe how quickly it has flown by. I'll try to be more vigilant in posting Elayna's milestones -- especially while she continues to surprise and delight us.